Investing is one of the best things that you can do for your future and the future of your loved ones. Investing allows your money that you’ve worked so hard for, to work for you. If you’ve never invested before, it can be a scary idea to put your money at risk. You may think that you need to have tens of thousands of dollars set aside and a financial advisor to start your investment portfolio, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are plenty of ways that you can start investing for a couple of extra bucks every month.
When you think of investing, you probably think of stock brokers buying and selling stocks on the stock market. You think that there is no way to can handle researching different companies and buying and selling stocks on the market. Luckily, there are several of ways that you can invest your money wisely without every getting near the stock market.
Lending Club
Thanks to the Internet, investing your money has never been easier. Over the past several years, there have been dozens and dozens of websites that allow you to invest your money without getting anywhere near the stock market. Lending Club is one of those sites.
Lending Club is a part of the new wave of investing called peer-to-peer lending, which is exactly what it sounds like. There is a person that needs money, and there is a person that is willing to lend money. As a borrower, there are several different reasons that you would want to use a site like Lending Club. With these peer-to-peer avenues, you don’t have the complications of going through all of the hoops of working with banks. You can complete the application on your terms. Additionally, borrowers will be able to secure better rates and will also have more flexibility on the requirements to secure the loan. As a borrower, you’ll be allowed to apply for a loan for just about any reason. You can use the money for home repairs, car loans, refinancing, or just to buy a pool for your children.
On the other side of the coin is the lenders. While there is never a “sure thing” when it comes to investing, Lending Club boasts excellent average return rates. According to their website, they typically see ROIs around 5.06% and over 8%, which is very attractive rates. Additionally, as a new investor, Lending Club is extremely easy to get started and has all of the risks laid out in front of you without the complicated jargon that scares new investors.
With Lending Club, you can open up a self-directed IRA, which means you will have full control of the investments inside of the account. Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it sounds. On the site you’ll be able to look through the variety of loans that are being requested and see the specific details of the loan and what the money is going to be used for. Once you find a loan that you want to participate in, you can decide how much money that you want to invest in that person’s application.
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Government Bonds
Another way to invest your money without touching the stock market is to invest in government bonds. There are a lot of benefits to government bonds that can boost an investment portfolio without the added risk of the stock market. Government bonds are one of the most low-risk investments that you can make, but they also have one of the lowest returns on your investments.
There are two types of government bonds that you can invest in, each of them has different advantages that you should be aware of before buying. The first type is a Series EE bond, these bonds are sold at half their face value, and they have fixed rate of interest. One of the best advantages of the Series EE bonds is that if you hold the bond for 20 years, the bond doubles and you can a pre-tax interest rate of 3.53%.
The other type of government bonds are the Series I bonds, the interest on these bonds are based on two separate numbers, fixed interest rate and the other is a rate that is related to inflation that is calculated on a biannual basis.
Real Estate Investing
Investing in real estate is one of the most common ways to invest without touching the stock market. One of the most basics forms of investing in real estate is simply renting out properties to tenants. As a landlord, you will handle maintaining the properties and finding the tenants. Another way to invest in real estate is to participate in a real estate investment group. With a real estate investment group, you won’t play a hands-on role that you would as a landlord. The investment groups are one of the easier ways to invest in real estate, you will invest the money through a professional group, like a mutual fund, but the company will handle all of the maintenance and footwork of the properties.
Both of these techniques have benefits to them depending on how involved you want to be with real estate. Real estate can have one of the largest returns on your investment, but it also carries one of the biggest risk of any investment. If you don’t want to be extremely hands-on with your properties, a real estate investment group is the best route.
Investing without the Stock Market
The sooner you start investing, the more potential your money has. Invest is one of the best tools at your disposal to have the retirement dream that you’ve always wanted, but that doesn’t mean that you have to dive head first into the stock market. There are dozens of different ways that you can wisely invest your resources without buying low and selling high.
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